A Lost Heart
by Basthog
Summary: After the events of the 2nd keyblade war, everything went back to the way it should be...well mostly everything. Everyone was back together...everyone, except for Sora. Who gave up his life to save Kairi. Join him on his journey back to the world of the living once again as he traverses through new worlds, makes new friends, and find out he is part of a much bigger picture.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning! This story contains spoilers for Kingdom Hearts III! If you have not played Kingdom Hearts III, I advise you to please skip this story! If you don't care for spoilers, good for you! All characters belong to their respected creators and owners. Hope you enjoy the story.**

_Chapter I; Wake Up_

_Sora..._

"..."

_Sora...wake up...You still have much to do._

"Huh?" Sora groaned. The spikey brown-haired boy's eyes fluttered open and slowly rose up onto his feet. He looked around to find himself in a black, empty void with no sight of any light but could see himself perfectly clear. "Am I... dead?"

"Thankfully, no, you are not dead my friend." spoke a voice from behind him.

Sora turned around to see a man in a black coat with a hood hiding his face. The black coat usually worn by members of Organization XIII. He swiped his hand back and the Kingdom Key materialized in his hand and pointed the keyblade towards the man. "I thought we already dealt with you Organization clowns."

"Woah, woah, settle down there kid. But are you associating me with the 13 Seekers of Darkness? I'm flattered that I look like someone else but that just hurts. I am not a part of those group of troublesome but yet interesting individuals." the man placed his hand on his chest to gesture how offended he was.

"Then who are you? Where are we?" Sora quickly questioned the man.

"So quick to ask questions this time around huh? Well, you can call me the Master of Masters. To answer your second question, you should know exactly where we are. I mean, what do you think we are standing on?"

Sora looked down to see a dimly lit floor of...himself? It appeared to be a large circular platform that looked somewhat familiar to him. He's been here before...when he freed Ventus's heart, before he woke up on the beach before the Destiny Islands were swallowed by darkness, and when he first fought Roxas. Although, the platform was shattered with several pieces missing.

"Is this... my heart?" Sora asked as he placed his hand over his chest where his heart should be.

"I'm afraid so. Although, you don't seem surprised." said the Master of Masters

"Well, I knew that bringing Kairi back would cost me something...I guess it was my life for hers." Sora let out a light chuckle as he threw his arms behind him and placed them on the back of his head. "Wait...I was told that there were three hearts inside of me. There was Ventus, Roxas, and someone else. Is that person you?"

The Master's head turned to look around and then pointed at himself, "Me? Sorry to disappoint you kid but the heart you're speaking of is not mine. That one actually belonged to the girl named Xion. The black-haired girl who battled with you and Roxas when you fought one of the members of that Organization XIII fellows. I'm here inside you because your role has yet to be fulfilled." explained the Master.

"My role?"

"Yes. You see, there is a keyblade out there that has one of my eyes. I put it in this keyblade so that I could be able to see what happens in the future after I disappeared from my own time." the Master glanced at Sora who had a disturbed facial expression. The Master's shoulders lowered and he sighed heavily. "Yes, I placed one of MY eyes inside a keyblade. How disgusting." mocked the Master.

"E-eh I-I'm sorry. That's just... a strange idea. Can I see it?" Sora asked hesitantly.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

A low and rough groan echoed all around them suddenly. The ground shook beneath them. In the dark abyss that surrounded the platform where they stood, a large dark figure rose from its shadowy depths. It was a Darkside. This one looked different however, red markings glowed all throughout its body. Its facial appearance even looked more human than how they usually looked.

"It seems it has found me again. Welp, sorry to cut this conversation short but I'm going to be sending you off now. Do not tell anyone that you have met me." said the Master.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Sora quickly asked.

The Master raised his hand to Sora and he was suddenly covered in light. The platform below started to put itself back together and shined brightly, blinding Sora until all he could see was nothing but the bright white light that consumed him. After a few moments, the light dissipated, leaving only the Master and the new Darkside heartless alone.

"Well now, where were we?... Ah yes." muttered the Master. He turned towards the Darkside and quickly jumped towards it. Before the heartless could make a move, the Master swiped his hand vertically, cutting his opponent in half. "Go now, live on your life...young Sora."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter II – A Broken Connection**_

It was a quiet night on Destiny Island. The ocean waves gently brushed against the shoreline as calm as can be. The breeze silently blew across the beach. On a small piece of the island, where the paopu tree rested, sat the young teenage girl, Kairi. She stared out into the open ocean that glimmered in the moon light. The dark blue color of the ocean itself was enough to remind Kairi the painful sadness that has been casted on her heart. The terrible pain of loss affected her greatly. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted after hearing footsteps approaching her from behind. She turned her head to see Riku, one of her childhood friends.

"You okay, Kairi?" he asked in a concerned tone.

Kairi turned her attention back out to the open waters. "Yea... I'm fine." she softly answered.

Riku knew she didn't want to talk despite not being the stubborn type. He walked over and leaned against the base of the tree next to where Kairi was sitting and stared out into the watery horizon. He glanced over to his friend to see her body shaking and tears starting to run down her cheeks. He hopped up onto the tree and embraced Kairi within his arms causing her to let loose more tears.

"I... I said I would protect him... But instead... He saved me again. He gave up his own life for mine... If... If I wasn't so helpless, I wouldn't have been caught... And he would be here with us. It's all my fault." Kairi's voice cracked as she spoke.

It has been over a week since the battle with Xehanort had ended. In the end, the Guardians of Light won against the Seekers of Darkness. But it didn't feel like a win to neither Riku or Kairi. After Xehanort used Kairi to complete the X-blade and fighting Xehanort, their best friend, Sora, exchanged his own life for Kairi's. They lost; someone who they cared about deeply, their childhood friend, their savior, their ally, their light that would cast away even the darkest from of darkness.

The others however had it easy. Xion, Roxas, and Isa, formally known as Saix, were reunited with Lea, Hayner, Pence, and Olette and are currently living out their lives in Twilight Town. Aqua and Ventus finally have Terra back in their lives and are settling down in the Land of Departure after having a funeral for their old master, Eraqus. Even Mickey, Donald, and Goofy returned to Disney Castle. Then, there was Namine who now currently resides along with Kairi & Riku on Destiny Island after finally receiving a body thanks to the researchers at Radiant Garden.

"No, it's not your fault. He chose to exchange his own life for you because it's something he felt was right to do." said Riku.

"Um...he's actually not gone." piped up a voice.

"It's quite the opposite." spoke another.

Riku and Kairi turned to see Namine and Roxas standing on the wooden bridge that connected the miniature island to the bigger one. Both have connections to Sora although formally being Nobodies but have now become completely human and real thanks to Even, also one of the researchers at Radiant Garden, and his Replica Program research.

"Roxas?... Namine? What are you saying?" Riku asked.

"Are you telling me Sora is still out there?" shouted Kairi.

"Well...it's more or less like he just...appeared again. Just a little while ago, I felt something stir in my heart and I saw a man in a black coat. Then I asked Axel to make a gateway here. Apparently Namine had a similar experience. I'm unsure if Xion felt anything. I should have asked now that I think of it." Roxas commented.

"A black coat? Are you saying that they're back?" barked Riku.

"No... This man is not part of the organization... Although I could sense something strange about him. He did say something to me however, _"Make sure he doesn't end up giving up his life again or dying." _And then he disappeared and came to and I saw Roxas appear." Namine answered.

Riku glanced over to Kairi and saw her saddened expression change into one filled with hope. He looked down and thought about the information that the two had given them. The man in the black coat... Usually members of Organization XIII wore those excluding Axel who sometimes had it on from time to time. Although, if what this man spoke is true, and if Sora has been brought back from the dead... then why isn't he here? It could be a trap for all they know. But since Roxas was Sora's nobody and Namine can see and change people's memories if she wanted to, there was no way he could NOT believe them.

"Well, if he is back. He obviously can't travel to other worlds. And who knows what kind of dangers he is facing. So, we train and then..." Riku turns to Kairi. "We find our friend."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter III – He'll Be Coming Up the Mountain**_

As the light that surrounded Sora faded away, the young keyblade wielder found himself in a snowy forest alongside a steep mountain. The land was covered with the crystal white blanket everywhere he looked. It reminded him of his time in Arendelle when he was on his journey to figure out how to obtain the power of waking. Somehow, though, he had a coat on this time.

"Thank goodness for this coat. But I wonder where it came from." Sora looked around and began walking along the mountain, hoping it would lead him somewhere like a town or maybe he'd run into someone along the way. After a few minutes, he began to develop the feeling as of being watched. But, every time he would check, there would be no one anywhere. Why would someone be watching him out in the middle of nowhere anyway? The idea sounded ridiculous.

Before his mind could completely trail off into his own thoughts, a loud screech and gunfire filled the air making Sora's blood run cold with fear. It sounded like it came up from the mountain. The young boy took a few steps back and charged at the mountain, running up it. It took only a couple seconds to make his ascension to the source to see a bunch of people fighting big monsters on a train that resembled flying lions.

Before Sora could think, one of the monsters took notice of him. Its roared and flew over to him to attack its new prey. Sora quickly summoned his keyblade and attached his Arendelle keychain to make the Crystal Snow keyblade. He made quick work of the beast with one slash and air jumped towards the train, landing on it.

"Hey you! What are you doing here? Get back in the tra-" The girl in the ice blue dress was cut off as Sora blasted a fire spell past her, burning one of the monsters that was about to make its move on her.

"Sorry, that's not gonna happen. What are these things anyway?" Sora asked, as he dodged and used his magic spells to push the flying beasts back.

"Are you serious? How do you not know about the Grimm?" yelled the white-haired girl.

"Now is not the time to be yelling! We have to protect the train and everyone inside!" yelled a young boy who looked like he was from a farm.

As the fight raged on, the beasts began to fall one by one but only more kept coming to replace them like a hydra. The group of people on top of the train were being surrounded and overwhelmed by the ever-growing number of Grimm. Sora detached his Crystal Snow keychain and replaced it with the Ultima keychain, changing his keyblade to the Ultima keyblade. He then began to focus on his keyblade and it began to glow.

"Everyone, get behind me!" yelled Sora. Suddenly, bright circles of light appeared on the ground which summoned and launched more version of the blade towards his numerous foes. His clothes changed color from brown and red to white and black. He disappeared before everyone's eyes and quickly took out more Grimm within a blink of an eye and landed as his power ran out. Only a few Grimm remained but quickly retreated as their alpha was decimated so quickly. Before he knew what happened next, the keyblade wielder passed out from exhaustion.

. . .

Sora woke up groaning and slowly rose to see he was in a small room with two beds on opposite sides. He saw his jacket and got up from the bed he was laying in and put it on. He opened the door to be met by the young boy he was fighting with earlier. Sora jumped back in surprise as did the young boy.

"O-oh, I see you're finally awake. I was just about to check up on you since you just suddenly passed out in front of us." said the young boy.

"Oh. Well, thank you for keeping an eye on me but... where am I? And who are you?" Sora asked.

"My name is Oscar Pine. And you are on the train to Argus." replied Oscar.

"Nice to meet you Oscar. My name is Sora."

"Likewise, although, before I introduce you to the others, I have something to ask you if you don't mind." said Oscar.

"_Uh-oh."_ Sora thought to himself. "Uh...sure. Ask away..."

Oscar's eyes glowed and his facial expression to one that was filled with caution. "How are you able to use magic?" he questioned in a tone that echoed inside his head.

"_Crap. I can't tell him I'm from another world. That will break the world order. I learned my lesson too many times from Donald's scolding yet we still meddled with every world's affairs."_ Sora panicked. He didn't know how to answer. Before he could even think of something to respond, Oscar turned away.

"I'm sorry. You don't need to answer that question. If you were able to however, it could've been of use for us on our quest to find a way to beat Salem. Although we'd need something from another dimension to take her out to maybe knock some sense into her." Oscar rambled.

Sora let out a light sigh of defeat but then put on a smile and threw his arms behind his head. "Well... you aren't far off."

"What?!" Oscar questioned.

_**Hello all, sorry for my silence again. Here's a new chapter for you all. It might not be what you'd expect of me but this is kind of where I wanted to go. Hope you enjoy.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter IV – Familiarity**_

"What do you mean by that? Are you saying you are from another world? Is that how you are able to use magic?" Oscar questioned Sora relentlessly. He nervously laughed in response as he knew he already messed up.

"W-well... yeah. You could say that. This isn't the first world I've been to but I know it certainly isn't the last. I was sent here." said Sora.

"Wait wait wait... 'first world'? And you were sent here? Who sent you?" Oscar kept badgering the Keyblade wielder with more questions. Oscar was pulled back by a tall man with laid back black hair.

"Quit hounding the kid with questions Oz. We can hear you from the next 2 rooms. Although what he said is sounding pretty interesting to the rest of us." said the man.

"My apologies. What he said just made me feel hope and interested me greatly." said Oscar.

"Well, at least he's on your good side and doesn't look like he is here for anything bad. So, kid, the name is Qrow. What's your name?" Qrow asked.

"My name is Sora." replied the young boy.

"Nice to meet you Sora. Follow me, I'll introduce to the others. Oh, by the way." Qrow placed his hand on Oscar's head. "This kid is actually a two in one kind of deal. Meaning there are two sides of him. There is Oscar and then there is Ozpin. Right now, you're talking to Oz."

"Wow. Sounds like me. I had three people inside my heart at one point. Thankfully they are living their own lives now." Sora piped up. An image of Roxas, Ventus, and Xion appeared in his head which turned his smile into a frown as he was suddenly reminded that he had to leave his friends behind.

"What do you mean by that?" Ozpin asked with a confused expression. Even Qrow stopped from leaving.

Sora pulled out his gummiphone and opened up the journal and explained his adventures he took throughout the many world, what a nobody and heartless was, the power of the heart, and what the Keyblade was. The two then told their story about Salem, the maidens, the relics and the road they had to take to get to the point they are currently in.

"Peculiar. You keybladers follow some fascinating rules. It seems like your deaths are not always permanent. You can live even without your original body. Some can live with 'half' of their heart. Others created merely from your memories of others you knew. And then there's the organization you faced which was full of these Nobodies. That keyblade of yours might give us the advantage against Salem." Ozpin rambled.

"Alright, let's leave Ozpin to his thoughts. Come with me. I'll introduce to everyone in the next car." Qrow walked out of the room with Sora following his tail feathers. _**(A/N: HAHA! Get it? Tail feathers... because he turns into a crow... alright I'll leave.)**_

"B_... brother..."_ whispered a voice. Sora quickly turned around to where he thought he heard the voice coming from. As he went to turn back around to catch up to Qrow, he looked at his reflection in the window. Something about his reflection seemed strange. His hair was black as night and his eyes were more hazel than the usual blue eyes. He recognized his face...it was Vanitas's face. The Vanitas reflection then opened its mouth and spoke inside his head. _"Sora...wake me up...it hurts."_

Sora rubbed his eyes and looked in the window to see his reflection was back to normal. Must have hit his head too hard or something. He walked into the next car and closed the door behind. This part of the train seemed like a hangout spot. There were about 7 people scattered around the car. One of which was a black-crimson haired girl who quickly approached him. Her eyes were the color of silver. Although, as he had a closer look, the girl reminded him of one of his best friends, Kairi.

"What was that super power you used! It was amazing! Also how did your weapon change into a cooler sword? What is its name?" the girl bombarded Sora with so many questions. Qrow shook his head and chuckled, walked over to a seat and sat down.

"Oh... I'm sorry. My name is Ruby, Ruby Rose. The leader of Team RWBY." she introduced herself and her teammates and friends.

"The name's Sora. It's nice to meet you Ruby." he replied.

"I have to agree with Ruby though. Your weapon and abilities were amazing. I'm kind of envious of you Sora. What do you call your weapon?" Weiss asked.

"It's called a Keyblade. This is the one that chose me. From what my friend Mickey has told me, it's called the Kingdom Key." Sora explained and summoned the weapon into his hand from nothing. The others stepped back, curiosity and questions filled their eyes and mind on what they are witnessing. It wasn't the first time they've seen something as strange as this.

"How did you do that?" Yang questioned.

"Magic..." Sora answered. The cabin grew silent. Yang sat back down in her seat and began to mutter to herself. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Are you by chance another one of Ozpin's works of magic?" Yang growled.

"Uh... no? I am just being me. This is my own magic that I use when I travel across worlds for spells and attacks. I don't know how long I'll be here though."

"Woah, woah, woah. Hold up. Did you just say you travel across worlds?" Jaune exclaimed.

"Yeah. I shouldn't be saying any of this however as it disrupts the world order. But it's not like I haven't broken that rule before. I once turned into a lion in one world and a mermaid in another."

"Sounds like something out of a fairy tale." Blake said.

"I battled the Kraken at one point... kind of scared me a bit. Huh?" Sora's attention was snapped away from everyone's questions as he noticed something sitting under Qrow's chair. Some kind of dark creature. He slowly walked over around Qrow and gently reached under and pulled out a Flood Unversed. Everyone quickly pulled out their weapons and pointed it at the Flood, scaring the negative spirit that then clung onto the keyblade wielder's clothes, making loud whimpering sounds as if it was scared. Sora suddenly felt something hurt inside his heart. It felt heavy which made it hard for him to stand for some reason. He didn't know what was happening to him at all. The others were yelling at him to put it down.

"Sora, put that Grimm down!" Jaune yelled.

"_ITS NOT A GRIMM! IT'S A PART OF ME!"_ yelled Sora. His voice sounded a bit different, deeper than usual.

"Come again?" Weiss asked. Sora lifted his head to look at everyone. His appearance was changing before everyone else. Half of him anyway. His hair was turning black, his left changing from the normal ocean blue to a golden hazel color. The more he began to change, the more painful the change became. That was until light filled the car until instead of one Sora in the room, there were two. As Sora regained his bearings and saw the other person next to him who was currently passed out. He immediately recognized who this other person was.

**It was Vanitas.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter V – One Side of the Story**_

"Will you care to explain what you mean by saying he's a 'part of you,' Sora?" Ren said questionably. Everyone was one edge by the sudden appearance of Vanitas. He was literally a darker version of Sora by first glance. Although he only gained his appearance because of the Keyblade wielder's past heart connection to Ventus.

Sora looked back at his dark double who laid against the seat by the window. His body looked like it was lifeless although slowly and surely, he began to stir. Vanitas's eyes leisurely opened up to put his eyes on display. His eyes weren't their usual golden-yellowish color. They had a light gray color to them, like they were made of silver. Once when the dark boy's eyes were open, his gaze shifted up to Sora who stood in front of him.

"Ven...tus?" he softly spoke.

"Sorry, but I am not your other half. At least not that one." Sora smiled.

"Does this have to do with what you told me about when you said you had three people inside your heart Sora?" Ozpin questioned. The young brunette boy shifted from side to side in response, unknown of how to answer this one. He knew about only three people inside his heart; Ventus, Roxas, and Xion. Vanitas however was a different story. He doesn't remember having him inside of his heart. After all, he was actually the dark half of Ventus's heart.

Vanitas groaned and gently held his head up as his sight began to clear up and see who he was actually was looking at. His dimwit of a "half-brother," Sora. Behind him were a bunch of older looking teenagers holding weapons pointing at him and Sora. He didn't know what was going on, but it kind of amused him. Last thing he saw before he was swallowed up by darkness was him and Ventus when he fought alongside Xehanort. The next thing he sees when he wakes up is a bunch of people pointing weapons at him.

"What the hell?" he groaned. "Talk about a wakeup call, having to listen to this runt and a bunch of kids arguing."

"H-hey. I'll have you we're all older than you sir." Weiss exclaimed.

"And annoying ones to boot." Silence quickly filled the air until Yang snorted a giggle.

"What's that for!"

"Everyone, calm down!" Ozpin yelled loudly. "Now's not the time to be arguing at our new guest. Besides, this isn't the first time we had a group of people come into our world like these two here."

"What? I thought you said you told us everything!" Yang spat back aggressively.

"Because this information was irrelevant to our current mission. Now, I don't have much knowledge about these people but he will tell you what he has told me and then I will say from what little I know."

Sora sighed and then proceeded to tell everyone what kind of person he is, the weapon he wields, and what has happened to him before he came into this world. Vanitas stayed quiet in the back of the cart, leaning against the wall, staring out the window. It took a bit for most of the group to decipher and comprehend it at first, all except Ruby.

"WOW! SO, YOUR KEYSWORD CAN CHANGE INTO OTHER KEYSWORDS?! HOW MANY VARIANTS DO YOU HAVE? CAN I SEE THEM? Uh..." Young Ms. Rose noticed how close her face was to Sora's face and quickly backed up. "I-I'm sorry. I have a tendency to ask a bunch of questions. I am a weapon geek." She nervously giggled.

"You are fine. I have a bunch of friends who can use a Keyblade. My best friends, Kairi and Riku have one of their own as well." Sora's expression went from one of calm to one of worry. "Now that I think about it... they think I am dead right now... I wonder how they are doing without me." he held his head down. The others looked at each looked at each other.

"I lost someone not long ago." Jaune suddenly interrupted, "She was the one who helped me and my team when she was alive. She helped train me, helped me study, and she accepted me. By the time I found out how she really felt about me, she went off to do her mission as a huntress. She ended up dying in the end. For the past couple of months, she's been my reason to keep moving forward, her and my friends who I have with me. I'm pretty sure your friends are going to get stronger because of you."

Sora smiled. "Thanks, Jaune."

"I wouldn't count on them knowing that you are dead you simpleton," Vanitas chimed in. Sora turned around and stared at his dark counterpart.

"What do you mean by that?"

"If I am here. I'm pretty sure Ventus can feel my presence one way or another. I am the other half of his heart. If he can sense me, or if your spikey gray-haired friend can smell my darkness, then we should be found."

"Well... about that, I don't think I would be able to go with them if they found me. I'm not truly alive yet and neither are you."

"What do you mean we aren't alive yet?"

"_Masters of Masters? I am sure I have heard of that name before..."_ Vanitas thought to himself.

**Twilight Town; The Old Manor**

Even though the worlds were still separate, there were paths to certain worlds that remained open; one of those worlds was Twilight Town thankfully. The crew of 4 departed from the Gummi Ship they arrived here from. Riku looked towards the mansion and saw Isa, Lea, Xion, Pence, & Olette.

Kairi looked around, somewhat surprised as to not see a particular person amongst the group along with the others. She turned to Roxas,"Where is Hayner?" she asked curiously.

"He's with Aqua after he showed some signs of being able to wield Keyblades of their own." said Isa as he approached them.

"Wow! Really? Good for him!" Kairi said gleefully.

"It was quite a surprise and it just happened suddenly. I'm quite jealous of him and hope he does his best." spoke Olette.

"Yes, quite so. Anyway, old buddy pals, Terra and Ven, should be here in a bit." Lea piped up, sounded excited to see his old friend Ventus again after a few months being apart.

"As should the King, Donald, and Goofy. They want to find Sora as much as you guys do." Isa added.

"What about Sora?"

Everyone turned around to see Terra, Ventus, and Chirithy. Lea ran up and picked up Ventus and gave him a big hug, "VENTY WENTYYYYY!"


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter VI – Where to Begin**_

_**Outside the Old Mansion, Twilight Town**_

"Alright Lea, that's enough smothering your old friend. Why is it that you have gathered us here Roxas?" Isa went straight to the point by asking the question everyone was thinking.

"Well... I think Sora is alive..." said Roxas.

"Care to elaborate us on what you mean?"

"Wait, are you saying Sora isn't completely dead?" Ventus piped up.

"Well, I am not entirely sure. I just had this feeling that he just appeared out of nowhere. Then this guy appeared in my head wearing a black coat. I thought he was with the organization, but he wasn't. He did leave me a message however." Roxas explained.

"What did he say?"

"He said '_Make sure he doesn't end up giving up his life again or dying.' _I am pretty sure he means Sora but... I don't know who this guy is? He sounded a bit weird and a bit eccentric. I think he called himself the 'Master of Masters.' I'm not sure."

"Master of Masters..." Ventus spoke softly. That name rang familiarity to him. He just wasn't sure where he heard that name from.

"So, what do you guys want to do with what little information we have?" said Isa.

"Well..." Kairi stepped up, holding her hands on her chest. "I was thinking of having a little training session before me and Riku head out to try and find him... along with everyone who would like to join."

"As would I. I may be a Keyblade master, but I feel like I was too weak against Xehanort." Riku added.

"I can help you Kairi. Me and Roxas both." Xion grasped Kairi's hands and smiled happily at her offer.

"That sounds great." Kairi nodded with a slight blush.

"Wait, wait, wait... Did someone say Master of Masters?" A giant cat like plushie appeared on Ventus's shoulder. Its fur was light gray with a couple dark stripes. It carried a small pink purse around its neck.

"Do you know who that is Chirithy?" Ventus asked.

"He was the first of your kind and the first to discover the Dream Eaters. He lived hundreds of years ago but disappeared without a trace. He created the second generation of Keyblade masters known as the Foretellers. He also created a book called '_The Book of Prophecies'_ which foretold of events to come. One of those events was the battle between you guys and Master Xehanort. Even the Keyblade that Master Xehanort originally belonged to the Master of Masters."

"Wait, so are you saying that everything that led up to this moment was foretold by a book? Even Master Eraqus's murder?" Terra asked, his voice filled with a bit of guilt. He defeated his old master, Eraqus, to save Ventus's life which resulted in his demise.

"It would appear so... I'm sorry. Whatever is in the Book of Prophecies cannot be rewritten or changed. Such as the downfall of the Foretellers..."

"How about we continue our talk INSIDE the mansion?" Isa blurted out.

The group agreed and headed inside the old mansion. Chirithy proceeded to tell the story about _The Time of Fairy Tales _and more about the Foretellers and Master of Masters. As the story went on, Ventus felt a bit of nostalgia flow through him. Everything that Chirithy was talking sounded so familiar.

"_Hey... Wake up." _

A man in a black coat stood atop of the mansion. He let out a chuckle with his hands on his hands. "Boy, you sure know a lot, don't cha?"

_**Argus Limited, Remnant**_

The group quickly settled down as Vanitas was viewed as not a threat. Everyone sat down in a seat in silence. Apparently, they've been through a lot just like them. Although being enemies, Sora felt something different about Vanitas. He leaned over to his dark counterpart and spoke softly.

"Do you still believe what you are is darkness?"

"What's it to you if I am or not. I'm pretty sure I made that perfectly clear." mumbled Vanitas as he sat back against the seat. "At least I am in full control and not one of that stupid old geezer's puppets. Still brings up the question as to why I am here..."

It was peculiar. Vanitas is supposed gone permanently. Yet he is living and breathing right in front of Sora. He couldn't wrap and his head around it and gave up thinking about it, sinking his head low.

"Anyway, you have any idea of how to get off of this world? Or are you hopelessly brainless?"

"Well, the guy told me to just live my life. But it feels like my heart is pieces. Maybe if we find the piece in this world, we get to go to the next world."

"Ugh, you're useless. We aren't going to get anywhere but I guess I will just have to follow you to get out of he-…" Vanitas stopped mid-sentence and looked around. He quickly materialized Void Gear and quickly shot a ball of ice upward. Everyone else quickly stood up and looked at the Keyblade wielder in confusion.

"What the hell was tha-" Nora's voice was cut off as a loud thud was heard from the roof of the cart.

"Whatever that was, isn't the last."

Qrow ran out of the cart and climbed up the ladder that was outside and saw a whole swarm of Manticore Grimm being led by a couple of Sphinx Grimm. "Guys, get up here, we have company! A lot of it!"

Everyone of team RWBY, Sora, Vanitas, and Oscar headed up while the remaining members of team JNR stayed below to protect the passengers. There were dozens of Grimm flying around. The group scattered around the rest of the train, having 4 people on 2 separate carts.

A herd of Manitcore quickly flew down and the battle began. Sora quickly activated his wisdom form after attaching the Shooting Star keychain. The Keyblade quickly materialized itself into a pair of colorful crossbows. Most of the group fired a bunch of ammunition towards the swarm of Grimm, taking a few out of the sky until they landed. The Grimm were dispatched quickly but more kept coming like cutting a hydra's head off. Cut one down and two more replaced it.

A Sphinx landed after a great deal of Manitcore were eradicated. The teams were split between the two groups; Vanitas, Yang, Weiss, and Oscar on one cart, and Sora, Ruby, Blake, and Qrow on the other. The Sphinxes spread their wings and let out a screech as if they had cornered their prey.

Vanitas quickly charged towards the Sphinx, quickly dodging its viper-like tail with his speed. He swiped at the Grimm's hind legs and created a pillar of ice which hit its face. Yang shot downwards which catapulted herself upwards and punched the creature multiple times before jumping away from its head. Weiss used her glyphs on the Sphinx's feet to keep it nailed down.

"Take care of it quick. I don't think I can hold it for long."

The dark version of Sora let a smirk grow on its face and started walking around the Sphinx and then more Vanitas began to appear, confusing the beast greatly as the tail attacked each Vanitas only to be met with metal in its mouth. The head was quickly cut off and then the afterimages faded away as the real Vanitas landed. Big wounds began appearing on the Grimm as it let out a screech of pain but was quickly silenced as its head fell off.

Weiss felt a chill run down her back after seeing how the young black-haired boy annihilated such a beast with ease. She wasn't sure what the hell just happen and didn't know whether to feel surprised or scared of such power and grace.

Sora's group handled their Grimm Sphnix with ease, although less with Sora as support with his magic. Although the group was exhausted and there was still more Grimm to fight.

"We have to cut off the train now!" yelled Qrow.


End file.
